Tera is For Real

If you enjoy playing fantasy MMORPGs, you don't want to miss Tera. I've played'em all, and this is the best out there at the moment. Amazing combat and great graphics.

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I recently played in the Tera open beta and was pleasently surprised by an astonishing new world. Tera is absolutely beautiful and it puts outdated MMOs to shame. I started my adventure as a Slayer, being a diehard fan of the band Slayer and also with much love for slicing monsters and the ever-annoying player trolls to bits with my gigantic two-handed sword. Tera is the first MMO that I have played that has completely fulfilled my combat needs. You don't lock onto a target and mash buttons on your keyboard. You don't faceroll your keyboard and have all the monsters die. No, you actually aim your attacks, execute combinations, and block or evade your enemies attacks. Whether soloing or grouping, the boss fights are phenominal. There is a very small margin for error and you will definitely not want to divide your attention from your screen. Not only are these fights intense, but extremely rewarding and very fun. I have to rate both the grapics and the combat a whopping 9.5.

Questing in Tera is no better or worse than any other MMO I have ever played. The storyline quests are the most interesting and they have some interesting cutscenes and the occasional quest where you actually feel like a part of the game. But still, it is grabbing a bunch of quests, kill this, grab that, use this item, turn in quest, and move on to the next zone. I'd rate the overall questing an 8.0.

Tera, like World of Warcraft and Rift, has a dungeon finder feature. This makes getting into groups for dungeons much easier, and yet you will still see people forming groups outside of this feature as well. The two dungeons I got to experience while playing in Open Beta were fun, very rewarding in xp and loot, and definitely a feature you wouldn't want to skip. However, are the dungeons in Tera anything you haven't seen before if you've played mainstream MMOs? No. But it is still very well-done and I would rate the dungeons an 8.5.

Tera pvp servers are a cutthroat, intense, and ultimately a rewarding place to be. If you don't mind a little chaos, then you'll have a great time. Tera's current pvp structure is that in which you and other players may mark yourselves as an Outlaw, turning your name red, and giving you the ability to attack ANYONE outside of a safe zone (towns). So when you see red in Tera, you either kill them before they kill you, or you run like Forest Gump. The good news is, if you get griefed too often, you can change Channels. Tera currently has up to 10 channels to choose from, which is very useful for when you want to quest relatively alone, escape enemies, not have to wait on annoying respawns, etc. Selecting a guild in Tera can be rewarding or also have dire consequences. Guilds can go to war with one another, which will automatically make enemy guild members available to be attacked, regardless of their standing. This can definitely make pvping more fun, but also adds an extra element of paranoia to your gaming psyche. Also, there are deathmatches that can be made by players to battle against an opposing team with a few different objectives you can choose from. You can wager your own money against the other team as a reward for winning. I have not actually experienced this feature yet, and hope that they will add a battleground/warfront feature as well. Altogether I rate pvp in Tera an 8.0. Note: PvP in Tera has potential to get much better over time.

Overall, Tera is an excellent game and is definitely worth buying. I've played WoW, Rift, Age of Conan, LOTRO, DAOC, Aion, Warhammer, Darkfall, Anarchy Online, and so many more. And out of all of those games, i've never had as much fun as I had in open beta playing Tera. I've read other peoples reviews of the game, and they do not do the game justice. Play the game and decide for yourself! Tera is #1 in my book and I am in major withdrawl of it while I am waiting for the head start on April 28th. My overall rating: 9.5.